James Skelton
James Skelton is one of the main characters in Fable: The Balverine Order. Background James was raised in Bowerstone Old Quarter along with his mother, two surviving grand-parents, a lazy uncle, and six siblings. He is the second oldest of the children. Whereas his siblings' professions range from apprentice blacksmith to apprentice beggar, James is the servant to a wealthy family in Millfields. Story The story begins with James on his way to the Kirkman's house. Upon arrival, he hears that Mrs Kirkman has died and sees that Thomas is preparing to leave. James then reveals that he is going to tag along as well, and the two head off. After journeying across Albion, the pair pay a man named Rackam to take them across the ocean. On his boat, James saves a dog from being thrown overboard and names her Poxy Cur. Unfortunately, Rackam and his crew turn out to be pirates and attempt to kill Thomas and James. However, a Kraken attacks and destroys the ship. Thomas, James, and Poxy are able to get into a small lifeboat and begin to row towards shore. The trio arrive in the city of Blackridge, where they agree to help an elderly woman named Mrs. Mullins find out what happened to her husband and daughter. Thomas and James travel to a neighbouring city and find the Robert and Hannah Mullins had staged their deaths to look like a balverine attack in order to escape the abusive Mrs. Mullins. Thomas and James agree not to inform Mrs. Mullins of the truth. The pair continue on in search of a man named "Kreel", an apparent balverine hunter. They arrive in the city of Sutcliff where Thomas gets robbed by a female thief. Thomas, James, and a squad of soldiers, corner her in an alleyway. She attempts to pin the blame on Thomas, but he proves her argument to be false. The guards arrest her and prepare to remove her hand, which is the penalty for being a thief. Thomas sees this as an injustice and stands up for her, which results in him getting into a fight with the Sergeant. Thomas, James, and the thief are all arrested and thrown in gaol, then quickly sentenced to execution by the magistrate. However, the thief reveals herself to be Sabrina Kreel, the daughter of a nobleman, and she is released while Thomas and James are returned to their cell. Sabrina returns later, accompanied by her father who is none other than Ethan Kreel, the balverine hunter, and the two are released and brought to his mansion. There they prepare to go on a balverine hunt with Kreel and a small party of servants and adventurers. The next day, the party sets off into the woods. Unfortunately, they are attacked by balverines. All of the servants are killed and the survivors are dragged off to the balverine headquarters. There, it is revealed that Ethan is actually a balverine and uses these hunts to lure people to this location where they are transformed into balverines. However, one of the servants known as Bell rescues them. Bell reveals himself to be Quentin Locke and tells the two that there are three heroic weapons underneath the Kreel Mansion. They enter the room that contains the secret entrance but are attacked by Sabrina, also a balverine. After dealing with her, the trio head down and take their respective weapons. James takes a pair of magical gauntlets that belonged to the Hero of Will. The group then heads back into the forest to slaughter the balverines. Thomas is able to corner Lugaru, the leader of the Balverine Order and the one that killed his brother, Stephen. Lugaru is wounded and attempts to escape. Thomas disables him and threatens to torture him. Lugaru explains that rather than reveal the other members of the Order, he would kill himself. Using his long claw, he cuts his own throat and explains that in the end, he was stronger than Thomas. After the balverines have all been killed, the group gathered back at the mansion to place the weapons back. They then bury Sabrina in an unmarked grave and go their separate ways. Trivia *James' arms and legs seem to outgrow him as he is described as a "towheaded lad, with a ruddy complexion and arms and legs that seemed determined to outstrip him when it came to physical development." *He has a self-proclaimed great sense of direction. *When he becomes a temporary Hero of Will it is seen that he has evil or corrupt interests because of his red eyes and the flies around him. Category:Fable: The Balverine Order Characters